The Perils of Ministerial Flattery
MANY a young man has preached a sermon not fully in accord with the doctrines and usages of his church, and yet, in his impetuous thought, seeing strongly one side of the truth, he believed his position to be right. Then came the tempter in the form of numerous words and letters of approval from "leading citizens," the burden of which was their great pleasure that he had the "manhood and independence to speak out what all know to be the truth," etc. And, yielding to this flattery from men who were not in their hearts humble and in harmony with God, though respected moralists, he let this confirm his hasty and unsound judgment, till he could not see any other side of the truth, and thus soon found himself growing in popularity, but getting further and further away from the godly judgment of his older brethren and his church, and even from the words of the Scriptures themselves. A short road lay before him, and ruin at its end. The truth is that the world is at enmity with God; and the fact of pleasing those who are not spiritually minded ought always to cause a minister to look upon his own course with grave alarm. God himself, and those whose lives are humbly surrendered to God, are better counselors.—Golden Censer.